William King (poet)
Dr. William King (1663-1712) was an English poet and miscellaneous writer. Life King was born in London, the son of Ezekiel King. He was related to the family of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. King attended Westminster School, where he was a scholar under Richard Busby. At the age of 18, in 1681, he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford. There he is said to have dedicated himself completely to his studies. Reportedly after 8 years he had read over 22,000 books and manuscriptsReport attributed to Joseph Browne in the ODNB. (a figure reduced to about 7,000 in 7 years by Thomas Young).Andrew Robinson, The Last Man Who Knew Everything (London: Plume, 2007), p. 25. He earned a B.A. in 1685, an M.A. in 1688, and an LL.D. and D.C.L. in 1692.William King (1663-1712), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, July 12, 2016. In 1702, having moved to Ireland, he was made Judge of the Admiralty, Commissioner of the Prizes, Keeper of the Records in Birmingham's Tower, and Vicar-General to Narcissus Marsh, the primate. King found a friend in Anthony Upton, one of the judges, who had a house called Mountown, near Dublin, where King frequently stayed In 1708, when Lord Wharton was sent to govern Ireland, King returned to London, In 1710 he became a supporter of the High Church party, on the side of Henry Sacheverell; and was supposed to have had some part in setting up The Examiner (1710-1714). He was suspicious of the operations of Whiggism; and he criticised White Kennet's adulatory sermon at the funeral of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire. In the autumn of 1712 his health declined, and he died on Christmas Day. Writing In 1688 he published Reflections upon Mons Varillas's History of Heresy, written with Edward Hannes, a confutation of Antoine Varillas's account of John Wycliffe. He had already made some translations from the French language, and written some humorous and satirical pieces and in 1694, Molesworth published his Account of Denmark, in which he treated the Danes and their monarch with great contempt. This book offended Prince George of Denmark, the consort of Queen Anne; and the Danish Minister protested. In 1699 he published A Journey to London, after the method of Dr. Martin Lister, who had published A Journey to Paris. And in 1700 he satirised the Royal Society – or at least, Sir Hans Sloane, their president – in two dialogues, entitled The Transactioner. At Mountown he wrote the poem Mully of Mountown. Back in London, he published some essays, called Useful Transactions, including Voyage to the Island of Cajamai. He then wrote the Art of Love, a poem; and in 1709 imitated Horace in an Art of Cookery, which he published with some letters to Lister. The History of the Heathen Gods, a book composed for schools, was written in 1711. The same year he published Rufinus, a historical essay; and a political poem on Duke of Marlborough and his adherents. Recognition On 27 December 1712, King was buried in the north cloister of Westminster Abbey. His grave is unmarked.William King, People, History, Westminster Abbey. Web, July 11, 2016. Samuel Johnson included King in his Lives of the English Poets.''http://www.online-literature.com/samuel-johnson/3209/ Andrew Robinson, "The Last Man Who Knew Everything" (London: Plume, 2007), p. 25. Print. Publications Poetry *''The Furmetary: A very innocent and harmless poem, in three cantos. London: A. Baldwin, 1699. *''The Fairy Feast''. London: 1704. *''Mully of Mountown: A poem''. London: Booksellers of London & Westminster, 1705. *''The Swan Tripe-club, in Dublin: A satyr''. Dublin: Booksellers of London & Westminster, 1706. *''The Art of Cookery: A poem, in imitation of Horace. London: Booksellers of London & Westminster, 1708. *''The Art of Love; in imitation of Ovid. London: Bernard Lintott, 1708. *''Miscellaneous Poems and Translations by Several Hands'' (contributor). 1720. *''The Poems of Garth and King'' (with Sir Samuel Garth)). London: J. Nichols, 1779. *''Poetical Works''. (2 volumes), Edinburgh: Apollo Press, by the Martins, 1781. Volume I Non-fiction *''Reflections upon Mr. Varillas his History of Heresy''. Amsterdam?: 1688. *''A Journey to London, in the Year 1698''. London: A. Baldwin, 1698. *''Dialogues of the Dead: Related to the present controversy concerning the Epistles of Phalaris''. London: A. Baldwin, 1699. *''A Journey to England: With some account of the manners and customs''. London: A. Baldwin, 1700. *''The Transactioneer: With some of his philosophical fancies; in two dialogues''. London: Booksellers of London & Westminster, 1700. *''Some Remarks on the 'Tale of a Tub': To which are annexed Mully of Mountown, and Orpheus and Euridice''. London: A. Baldwin, 1704. *''A Friendly Letter ... to the Rev'd Mr. Goddard'' (as "Tom Boggy"). London: 1710. *''A Second Letter ... to the Canon of Windsor'' (as "Tom Boggy"). London: 1710. *''An Historical Account of the Heathen Gods and Heroes''. London: Bernard Lintott, 1710; Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1965. *''A Vindication of the Rev. Dr. H. Sacheverell ... in a dialogue between a Tory and a Wh-g''. London: John Morphew, 1710. *''Mr. B—t's recantation; in a letter to Henry Sacheverell''. London: A. Baldwin, 1711. *''Rufinus, or an historical essay. London: John Morphew, 1712. *''Mr. L-----b's recantation : in a letter to Poor Tom. London: J. Sackfield / J. Morphew, 1716. *''An Essay on Civil Government''. London: J. Wheble, 1776. Collected editions *''Miscellanies in Prose and Verse''. (2 volumes), London: B. Lintott / H. Clemens, 1709. *''Remains ... in verse and prose''. London: W. Mears, 1732. *''Posthumous Works ... in verse and prose''. London: E. Curll / W. Mears, 1734. *''Original Works'' (edited by John Nichols). (3 volumes), London: J. Nichols, 1776. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III Translated * François Pétis de La Croix, The Persian and the Turkish Tales Compleat. London: W. Mears / J. Browne, 1714; London: R. Ware, 1739. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William King 1712, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 27, 2016. See also *List of British poets References This page contains text from Samuel Johnson's ''Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, a work now in the public domain.'' Notes External links ;Poems *"Imitation of Horace" *William King (1663-1712) info & 3 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 *''The Art of Cookery" at PoemHunter *William King at Poetry Nook (4 poems) ;About *King, William (1663-1712) in the ''Dictionary of National Biography Category:1663 births Category:1712 deaths Category:English poets Category:Old Westminsters Category:Members of Doctors' Commons Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets